High Level #1

Hundreds of years after the world ended and human society was rebuilt from scratch, a self-interested smuggler is forced to traverse a new continent of danger and mystery to deliver a child messiah to High Level, a mythical city at the top of the world from which no one has ever returned. Don't miss the start of a new series from writer Rob Sheridan, co-creator of Nine Inch Nails' groundbreaking Year Zero alternate-reality game! MATURE READERS

High Level has everything you need for the perfect story; a badass main character who also gets to be a woman, beautiful aesthetics, stellar writing, interesting characters, mystery and an intriguing journey thats going to take Thirteen, her new cargo and readers on a trip that will make them question everything that theyve ever known. Ill be addingHigh Level to my pull, and unless you want Thirteen busting you across the face with a shattered bottle, Id suggest you do the same. Read Full Review

High Level comes in its first issue with a lot of information, but every single piece of it makes the reader excited to learn more about this world as it comes accompanied with magnificent artwork and through tremendously talented storytelling. Read Full Review

The story is subtle in its politics to start, instead focusing on the world building and in many ways feels like Sheridan's previous ARG work. It sucks you in and then layers on the deeper meaning. The first issue touches upon it but it's focus is the hook and story and to build a world we want to see more of. Read Full Review

The issue talks about high level being a place for salvation and to ascend. Witthe tones playing out already regarding gods and myths I feel this Is only the beginning of the runs undertone. It's well crafted first issue and although the last page is somewhat cliche, the character of thirteen has Hooked for issue two. Read Full Review

Leaving the reader on a cliffhanger, Sheridan, Bagenda and Fajardo point us in the direction the series will take without spoiling the fun of getting us there. There's still so many mysteries left after this first issue, from the idyllic family scene in the opening pages to the truth behind High Level, that keeping us on the hook should be a breeze. Read Full Review

While those who aren't fans of dystopian fiction will have little reason to give High Level a try, there is enough in this first issue to encourage genre enthusiasts to stick around. I suspect this may read better in the trade, but the characters and story so far suggest this could develop into the next Saga. Read Full Review

DC's Vertigo imprint continues to release nich and mature offerings from both fan-favorite creators and those outside the established names in the industry. With offerings of powerful stories ranging from American Carnage and The Sandman revival to High Level, one would be easy to forget their superhero line even exists (No disrespect to the Bat). Read Full Review

High Level #1 is an introductory issue at its core, but it's introducing readers to a world that is worth investigating. The themes here are rich, reflecting the tension inherent in consumerist society. Read Full Review

When you consider Rob Sheridan's background as the NIN creative director, and Barnaby Bagenda's work with Omega Men, it's not surprising that a series like High Level would be the end result of their collaboration. They've built a bleak, but no less colorful, world around a hard-nosed hero, and have planted the seeds for some timely and pointed ideas about the current state of our world. I look forward to seeing those seeds grow. Read Full Review

For now, "High Level" gets relatively high marks for its beautiful artwork and willingness to throw ideas at readers. Whether the series has legs may depend on a more focused narrative thread, however. Luckily the final pages of this first issue provide that source of focus. Read Full Review

This was alright. There's some interesting things here, but there's also some very unoriginal and cliched things. Most explicitly, the ending. So I'm not too excited for issue two. I may not even read it.

I don't know what to think of this. The first part is original, I feared a battle in the bar.
Second part is nicely done with her fellow cleaner and the woman giving her the next gig. Or how she send the drone in a opposite area (but I wonder how the group of cyborg succeed to pass them).
It's the following part I not understand correctly. So it was a trap, but Why. And she didn't even try to fight her way out want she's alone against only one man. And then suddently rescue coming for her, how convinient.

Cover - I take the beautyful variant. A little in link to one scene. 1.5/2
Writing - Not bad. The univers is interesting, but the end is not as good as the first and second part of this story. 2.5/3
Arts - Love the art. That remembering me of thos in New52 Captain K'rot story or in Justice League 3000. 3/3
Feeling - Mixed. They have to convince me with the following issue, or I'm leaving. 1/2 more

Rob Sheridan pre-emptied this first issue by announcing that it was hard on Christianity, as if that made him some kind of hero. The truth is that it labours a very thin metaphor about all religion (although cites The Bible). The critique of religion barely deserves that epithet: it is heavy handed and uninspired. You don't have to be religious to find the comments tedious, you just have to have a brain and an open mind. These childish comments almost destroy the comic, but it is saved in the last few pages by the emergence of an actual story that promises to deliver an epic quest - if the writer can get over his childish ranting.

The art is very strong, except for the scene where Thirteen nearly has her arm cut off, and seems completely unfazed by the prospect! I assume that was just a poorly realised panel, rather than deliberate, although the sheer nastiness of the character in bottling a male character who tries to chat her up may suggest otherwise. As well as the tone of this scene suggesting that we should support such disgusting behaviour, it also hints at a character who is so overwhelmingly tough that nothing can stop her. It is, like Sheridan's infantile anti-religion diatribe, an unpleasant aspect that I hope won't be developed, and hints at a narrative thread that is fair from being about true justice in society, which the writer makes pretensions towards.

There is potential in this comic book, but the writer will need to grow up and focus on giving us a proper story if it is to succeed. I really hope that it does, but given other recent Vertigo offerings (American Carnage and Lucifer excepted) I am not confident it will happen.more